Each person is different with different health goals and macronutrient requirements (ie, weight loss, weight maintenance, brain therapy aid). Each day of our weight loss meal plan falls between 1150-1300 calories for maximum weight loss. There is an optional snack for people that need a bit more calories, which brings the total calories with snack to between 1300-1500 calories per day. In addition, there are various ways you can adjust for your personal macronutrient needs.
Eggs are a healthy, nutrient-dense food that has been incorrectly maligned for years. Cholesterol in food doesn’t increase cholesterol in your blood, so eat eggs liberally – they’re packed with protein and lutein, and they fill you up for hours. Make a healthy omelet with some cheddar, crumbled breakfast sausage, and shredded spinach and you’re already looking at over 30g of protein, just for breakfast! Spinach is a great source of magnesium and potassium, too. Add some sea salt and you’ve got a big dose of electrolytes that are so vital to maintaining energy and staving off headaches. Get the recipe and instructions

It is not necessary to be as strict with children as you would be for yourself. Children are generally more insulin sensitive than adults, which means their bodies can deal with sugars and carbs more efficiently. Focus on whole foods, good sources of protein, lots of good fats (essential for brain development), and getting carbs from nutrient-dense sources.

Nuts or nut butters and seeds: Remember some nuts are fairly high in carbs (like peanuts, cashews, and pistachios). Stay away from any nut butters that have added polyunsaturated oils or “vegetable oils.” Choose higher fats choices, such as almonds or macadamia nuts, and seeds high in omega 3s like flaxseed and chia. Nuttzo is a great choice for a blend of good nuts. We, of course, make a delicious keto nut butter with MCTs and macadamia nuts. If you’re interested how nuts can affect you on a ketogenic diet, check out our Full Guide to Nuts on the Ketogenic Diet.
Also make sure that you know what foods have mostly carbs, fat, and protein, so you can make the right choices. For instance, it’s not just bread, pasta, chips, cookies, candy, and ice cream that contain carbs. Beans may contain protein, but they’re also very high in carbohydrates. Fruit and veggies also mostly contain carbs. The only foods that don’t contain carbs are meat (protein) and pure fats, like butter and oils (including olive oil and coconut oil).
Karen, We haven’t tried this recipe using the Ranch packets, but yes, it should work fine! To do so, we would omit the following: vinegar, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, dill, salt, and black pepper, and add 2 (1 oz) packets of dry Ranch seasoning. Yes, it would probably be delicious served over white rice. If you try this recipe using the Ranch packets, please let us know how it goes!

This week we’re introducing a slight fast. We’re going to get full on fats in the morning and fast all the way until dinner time. Not only are there a myriad of health benefits to this, it’s also easier on our eating schedule (and cooking schedule). I suggest eating (rather, drinking) your breakfast at 7am and then eating dinner at 7pm. Keeping 12 hours between your 2 meals. This will help put your body into a fasted state.

Your glycogen stores can still be refilled while on a ketogenic diet. A keto diet is an excellent way to build muscle, but protein intake is crucial here. It’s suggested that if you are looking to gain mass, you should be taking in about 1.0 – 1.2g protein per lean pound of body mass. Putting muscle on may be slower on a ketogenic diet, but that’s because your total body fat is not increasing as much.5Note that in the beginning of a ketogenic diet, both endurance athletes and obese individuals see a physical performance for the first week of transition.